By Kurt Wagner From Mashable

Three men have confessed to raping and then murdering two teenage girls in India, police said Sunday, according to a report.

The suspects, who face rape and murder charges punishable by the death penalty in India, are cousins in their 20s, the AP reported. The trio confessed to attacking the two girls when questioned by police.

Two more suspects remain at large, and investigators have also arrested multiple police officers for failing to investigate the attack after one of the girls’ fathers reported them missing last Tuesday night.

The teenagers, aged 14 and 15, were found hanging from a mango tree last Wednesday in the village of Katra after they were abducted Tuesday night, according to multiple reports. The girls had gone to a nearby field to relieve themselves (they had no toilets at home). Members of the Katra community, which is part of India’s Uttar Pradesh state, sat underneath the bodies in silent protest until investigators arrested the suspects. Authorities arrested two suspects on Wednesday, and another on Saturday, the AP reported.

Sexual violence is a major problem in India, where a rape occurs every 22 minutes, USA Today reported. In this instance, community members had to block a local highway before police even took notice of the crime, according to a USA Today video, and as many as four police officers are being investigated in the case.

Gang rape in India is now punishable by the death penalty, a change in law that took place last year, USA Today reported. The change was implemented after a women was gang raped on a moving bus in India’s capital city of New Delhi, causing nationwide protests, and capturing media attention worldwide.

PHOTO: Women from India’s Bharatiya Janata Party protest the rape and slayings of the two Indian teenagers from last week. IMAGE: RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/ASSOCIATED PRESS

For more on this story go to: http://mashable.com/2014/06/01/men-confess-gang-rape-murder-india/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_content

See related iNews story published May 29 2014 “Two India girls ‘gang-raped’ and hanged in Uttar Pradesh” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/two-india-girls-gang-raped-and-hanged-in-uttar-pradesh/